Zé da Zilda

Composer of manifestation in the Golden Age group of Brazilian music, Zé da Zilda’s classics remain popular today. He also got a noted profession on the air and documented an expressive discography. Since his years as a child, he was mixed up in musical surroundings of Mangueira, where he was Cartola’s friend, and of São Cristóvão, where he performed cavaquinho and violão (classical guitar) in the popular Casa de Caboclo. There he was nicknamed Zé Com Fome, getting Zé da Zilda after marrying composer/vocalist Zilda Fernandes in 1938. He was employed by Rádio Educadora and fulfilled Fernandes at Rádio Globo, had been he hosted a display and led his personal regional (little ensemble). This is the start of the casal da harmonia (tranquility few), which became Zé e Zilda on Rádio Cruzeiro perform Sul. His samba “Não Quero Mais” (with Cartola and Carlos Cachaça) was popular on the Carnival of 1936, sung by samba college of Mangueira. The melody was recorded within the next calendar year by Araci de Almeida and included down the road Leny Andrade’s Cartola and Paulinho da Viola’s Nervos de Aço as “Não Quero Mais Amar a Ninguém.” In 1938, Orlando Silva documented “Meu Pranto Ninguém Vê” (with Ataulfo Alves). In 1940, he participated in the recordings of maestro Leopold Stokowski for the albums released in the U.S. In 1941, his samba “Aos Pés da Cruz” (with Marino Pinto) was documented by Orlando Silva with great achievement, later getting re-recorded by João Gilberto. Zé e Zilda documented for the very first time in 1944 (Victor) with “Fim de Eixo” and “Levanta, José.” This is the start of a substantial group of recordings of originals and various other composers’ music. Their series of Carnival strikes started with “Conversa, Laurindo” (with Ari Monteiro) in 1945, as well as the best-known may be the march “Saca-rolha” (Zé/Zilda/Valdir Machado), which continues to be well-known today. They came back towards the Educadora, spent 12 years at Rádio Tupi, and sang going back period on Rádio Mayrink Veiga. His sambas de breque (a method that Zilda backed to become made by Zé and Heitor Catumbi) “Nega Zura,” “Mulher Malandra,” and “Garota Copacabana” had been documented by Jorge Veiga on his LP O Melhor de Jorge Veiga (Copacabana, 1975).